


world without you

by pxlarity



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, And a Barca fan, Cris is in Juventus, He's a nurse, Leo isn't a professional footballer, M/M, Neymar is Barca's number ten, This got sappy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-09-02 04:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16779301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pxlarity/pseuds/pxlarity
Summary: Cristiano dreams of a player wearing red and blue with the number ten on his back. It's supposed to be Neymar, but it's not.





	1. Chapter 1

Cristiano opens his eyes and he’s on a pitch. Everything is blurry, but he thinks he’s at Santiago Bernabeu. The stadium is much more quiet than it usually is. He’s all alone.

He blinks.

Suddenly it’s loud and the lights around the stadium are ignited. He’s just realized that he’s back in his brilliant white Real Madrid jersey. There are people, players, around him. He can’t seem to picture their faces, but he knows he’s in an El Classico. The red and blue stripes on the opposing team’s jersey are unmistakable. Cristiano knows he misses Madrid to some extent, but he never expected he’d dream about being back.

They’re not playing yet. Or maybe they’ve finished the match. Cristiano can’t really tell. There’s something resembling a fog surrounding him that’s preventing him from assessing the situation. Not that he really needs to, but he does want to figure out why his mind is taking him back to a Classico match. El Classico is a big event for many, he knows. For him, it’s simply another match to win. He _always_ takes his opponent seriously no matter who they are. He wants to win. Always.

A person, a player with a red and blue jersey, walks out from the fog. Cristiano doesn’t recognize this player. Supposedly he’s a Barca player, but he would have seen him before, wouldn’t he? The player is shorter than him by quite a large margin, his skin is pale, and his hair is messy. Before he knows it, the player is standing in front of him, hand held out for a handshake. Cristiano does exactly that, despite not recognizing the player.

The player smiles and turns around to walk away. The number on his back is ten and the name above it is-

Cristiano wakes up to the sound of his phone’s alarm.

_What an odd dream._ He thinks to himself as he gets up and prepares for today’s training. The picture of the player in the number ten jersey walking away from him haunts his mind. That jersey is worn by Neymar at the moment, yet that person was very clearly not the Brazilian. Nothing comes up in his head, so he decides to try to shrug it off and get to training. Early of course, as per usual.

-

The match ends in a draw.

Barcelona and Juventus were drawn in the same group for this season’s Champions League. The other two teams are Benfica and Bayern Leverkusen. For the majority of people, it’s already quite clear which teams are going to the round of sixteen. That doesn’t make the match between Barcelona and Juventus any less exciting. It ends in a draw, two goals for each team. For Barcelona, one from Neymar and another from Dembele. For Juventus, a brace from Dybala. Not a bad result, but not the best either. Cristiano had a good game. One assist, but he also missed a golden opportunity after a divine pass from Bernardeschi.

It happens sometimes.

Cristiano leaves the ground a bit late that day because he met with a few old friends who had watched the game. They ended up chatting for a bit longer than expected. That’s why by the time he steps out of the stadium, the parking lot is almost completely empty. Most of his teammates had already left after all. He’s about to head to his car when he sees someone in the distance. A familiar figure that Cristiano doesn’t know wether to approach or not.

To put it simply, it’s the guy from his dream. The player wearing Barcelona’s number ten jersey who’s not Neymar. He’s sure it’s the same guy. The stature, the pale skin, the hair, it all matches up. Cristiano is walking before he knows it. And for some reason, he can’t really stop himself. The guy is facing away from the parking lot, towards the street. He’s holding his phone, the light emitting from it a telling sign.

Truly, Cristiano doesn’t know what’s gotten into him. The guy doesn’t seem to notice that someone is approaching him. Cristiano doesn’t know whether that’s good or bad. His footsteps don’t stop, even if he desperately want them to. This is a bad idea beyond all bad ideas. His curiosity is to be blamed for this. He doesn’t know what else could be driving him to do something as risky and foolish as this.

Cristiano is just a few steps away from the guy when he accidentally kicks a pebble on the ground. The sound it makes is small, but considering how quiet the night is, it’s very much audible. The guy turns around and-

Somehow, he’s exactly how Cristiano imagined him to be.

It’s not like Cristiano has really imagined what he looks like, but it’s like he just _knows_ that this is right. That this stranger he’s just approached near the parking lot is the same guy from his dream. What doesn’t make sense is that this guy is clearly not a player, but just another fan. Why in the world would he have dreamed of a Barcelona fan of all people? And why was he playing in an El Clasico?

“Uh- Excuse me? Is everything alright?” the stranger asks.

His voice is familiar even though Cristiano knows for a fact that he’s never talked to this person before. He looks extremely confused and honestly, Cristiano probably has a similar expression on his face. What’s happening right now, he doesn’t know. 

“I’m sorry. Have we met before?” Cristiano asks.

The stranger looks at him, a bit confused and a bit amused. “I’m sure if we have, I would’ve remembered.”

Surely telling someone that you dreamt about them is not the formula to a good first impression, but Cristiano finds it way too hard to not address the fact. “Look, I know this sounds weird, but I had a dream about you.”

“You- what?”

“I was playing an El Classico. And you were there. Wearing Barcelona’s number ten jersey,” Cristiano says, the dream still fresh in his mind. “We shook hands and you walked away.”

The stranger laughs. Cristiano kind of likes the way he does it.

“I don’t know what to say,” he muses. “That was my childhood dream, but perhaps in another world.”

“You don’t play football?”

The stranger shakes his head. “No. I’m a nurse. I used to play football as kid, but I had to give up playing professionally because of my growth hormone deficiency.”

“I'm sorry,” Cristiano says, not knowing why he's apologizing, or why he genuinely feels sad about it. “That’s a shame.”

The stranger just nods, his eyes looking past Cristiano. It looks like he's having a flashback, like he's remembering something from his past. Something bittersweet. The stranger chews on his bottom lip and glances at Cristiano, perhaps deciding whether he should talk more or not.

“Wearing Barcelona’s number ten jersey was all I could think of as a child, but life had different plans for me. It’s crazy how you, of all people, dreamt about it,” The stranger says while scratching the back of his head out of nervousness, but he's smiling anyway.

Cristiano can’t help to smile back. “I know. And even crazier how we’ve just met.”

“Life is funny sometimes.”

“Yeah,” Cristiano says, uncharacteristically out of words. “You don’t have to answer this, but- what’s your name?”

“Lionel Messi,” the stranger answers. “I don’t need to ask yours, but for the sake of formality. You?”

Cristiano doesn’t answer for a moment. He thinks of the stranger’s name and how it rolls of the later’s tongue. _Lionel Messi_. The name sounds so right. Cristiano feels like he’s heard that name hundreds of time before, but at the same time, he clearly has never heard of it in his life. It’s almost like this introduction has happened before, somewhere, sometime. But Cristiano knows it hasn’t.

“Cristiano Ronaldo. Nice to meet you Lionel,” Cristiano says, smiling.

Lionel smiles back shyly. “Leo is fine.”

Cristiano is a bit taken aback. He didn’t expect to get to a nickname basis so quickly. “We’ve just met. Is it okay for you to let me use a nickname?”

“I trust you enough. You know my childhood dream,” Leo chuckles, “even some of my colleagues don’t know that.”

For some reason, Cristiano feels kind of proud, or special, he doesn’t exactly know. It almost feels like Leo is the famous one here considering how happy Cristiano is that Leo’s even talking to him when it should realistically be the other way around. Cristiano was about to speak when a grey car stops near the two of them.

Leo looks at his phone and then the car’s plate number. “Oh- my uber is here.”

“Right, go ahead,” Cristiano says, the disappointment in his voice apparent despite his efforts to hide it. “I’m sorry to bother you.”

Leo shakes his head and smiles. “It’s okay. It’s not everyday that a football superstar decides to bother you.”

“Hey,” Cristiano calls out when Leo starts walking away, “will we meet again?”

Leo looks taken aback by that question. He blinks a few times before he replies.

“Do you want to?”

“Yes. I think.”

Leo laughs again. Cristiano decides that he _really_ likes it, the way Leo laughs. The latter walks back towards Cristiano and holds his hand out.

“I can give you my number.”

This time, it’s Cristiano who blinks a few times before he can react. When he finally does, he fumbles as he takes his phone out from his bag. Leo holds back a laugh as he watches Cristiano trying to find his phone. Eventually he finds the device and hands it to a smiling Leo. Cristiano watches the way Leo knits his brows as he types in his number on Cristiano’s phone. Leo doesn’t seem to be done, but he looks up and their eyes accidentally meet.

“Thank you,” Cristiano says. He doesn’t quite realize it but he’s been wanting to say that for a while now.

“No. Thank _you_ . This conversation has restored my faith a bit.”

“Your faith in what?”

Leo clasps his hands together, fingers intertwining around Cristiano’s phone as he looks up to the night sky. “That somewhere else, in another world, another Leo is living his dream as a Barcelona player. It’s a nice thought.”

Cristiano can feel his heart ache when Leo says that. Not that he ever doubted it, but it shows that Leo does love football a lot. And somehow, Cristiano’s sure that if he got the chance, he would’ve been playing at the same level as Cristiano. Leo smiles sadly and hands the phone back to Cristiano. Their fingers brush against each other’s.

“There,” Leo says.

“Can I call you?”

“If I gave you my number, then doesn’t it mean yes?”

Leo’s smile is not so sad anymore.

Cristiano grins sheepishly. “See you around, Leo.”

“See you around.”

With that, Leo walks towards the car and sends one last smile toward Cristiano before he gets in it. Not too long after, the car drives away. Cristiano watches as the car passes by him, trying to get one last look at Leo through the darkened windows. And for some reason, he expects Leo to roll the window down and wave or say goodbye to him. Leo doesn’t.

That makes Cristiano all the more impatient to text him.

-

When Cristiano wakes up the next morning on his bed, he wonders if the meeting yesterday even happened. It was almost too good to be true. When he got home last night, he remembers stumbling inside his house like he was drunk despite the fact that he didn’t drink anything. He remembers feeling really happy, like cloud-nine happy. He remembers clumsily changing clothes and getting into bed. He remembers smiling at his phone and falling asleep while reminding himself to text Leo the next morning.

He remembers Leo.

Cristiano sits up on his bed abruptly, hands scouring the bed in an attempt to find his phone. A minute pasts and he finds it under his pillow. He hurriedly unlocks it and scrolls through his contacts towards the letter L, scared that Leo’s number might just be gone, disappear. He sighs in relief when he finds it. Cristiano smiles and runs his finger over the name on the screen.

It’s real.

Leo’s real. 


	2. Chapter 2

“What’s gotten you all smiley today?”

  
  
“What?” Cristiano asks, barely looking up at Mario from his phone before focusing back on it. “Oh, no, it's nothing. Just chatting with someone.”

****

“Ooh, someone, huh?” Mario grins with his eyebrows raised. “Not even a season yet in Turin and you’ve already found someone.”

****

Blaise chimes in, “So, what she’s like?”   


Cristiano winces at the mention of a she. The thing is, he’s not quite ready to tell his new teammates that aside from women, he also likes men. Heck, he wasn’t even sure if he was ready to leave Madrid a few months ago. You can’t expect him to be sure about coming out to his new teammates right now. Most of them probably won't even mind, but he'd like to do it in his own time. So Cristiano wants to shake it off, say it’s nothing, or it’s just friend or family. He wants to keep it low key for now, but then Leo sends him a text that makes his heart flutter. 

****

**Leo:** Crisssss

**Leo:** I forgot to tell you to have a good day

**Leo:** I’ve got to go now, talk to you later!

****

And that’s when Cristiano decides, fuck it, he wants to brag about Leo.

****

“A nurse,” Cristiano says, purposefully not using a pronoun. 

****

He’s not coming out, but he isn’t going to lie either.   


“Wow,” Mario says, amused, “a nurse, huh? She must be pretty.”   


“I’d say,” Cristiano pauses and thinks for a while because Leo is somewhat pretty, but more than that he's- “beautiful.”

****

Mario and Blaise both coo at Cristiano's words and the lovestruck, pining look he has on his face.

****

“Cris is in love?” Paulo suddenly asks, his head bolting up from his phone.   


“Never thought I’d see this in my time at this club,” Andrea laughs.

****

Before he can say or do anything about it, the Juventus players are already crowding around him. All of them are undeniably curious about Cristiano's love life as not many people get to see behind the curtains with him. The dressing room becomes even more lively as they continue to interrogate Cristiano about it.   


“A nurse though?” Blaise asks, “How did you two meet?”

****

Cristiano shrugs. “It was a coincidence really.”   


Andrea squints his eyes. “You’re being cryptic. But I’m guessing she’s from around here?”

****

“Argentinian, actually,” Cristiano says, reminded of how Leo talked about missing Rosario. “Worked in Spain, in Barcelona, previously, then moved here because an affiliated hospital was understaffed.”

****

“This sounds like some fairytale romance Cris,” Paulo says, chuckling.

****

Mira tries to not look too interested, but he asks anyway. “She likes football?”   


“Loves it. A Barça fan actually,” Cristiano says and his teammates and him share a good laugh. It's not mocking, or done with bad intention, it's just ironic is all. 

****

“Actually,” Cristiano starts, “it would’ve been possible to play professionally, but there were complicacies with health and hormones, stuff like that, so it didn’t happen.”

****

Giorgio finishes with his locker and looks over to Cristiano, sympathetic. “That’s really unfortunate…”

****

“So,” Mario says, “have you taken her out?”

****

“I- no, actually. Should I?” Cristiano asks mostly to himself, but he wanders out loud.

****

Blaise looks at him, perplexed. “Clearly! If you really like her then you  _ have to _ take her out on a date.”   


“I would love to, but it would be difficult,” Cristiano says, looking down at the floor between his legs. “You know how the media is. I don’t want to cause trouble. For anyone.”

****

His teammates share sympathetic looks and nods, knowing how hard dating can be sometimes when you're a public figure. Especially when you're just starting out.

****

“I know a place,” Andrea suddenly says. “Secretive, discreet. They know how to keep to themselves. A lot of Italian elites go there. Of course it’s a bit pricey, but the food and privacy is worth it.”

****

“I think that could be fine,” Cristiano says, smiling at the picture of him and Leo going on a date, finally. “I just- I want to do it.”

****

Blaise slings his arm around Cristiano's shoulder and announces loudly, “Cristiano’s going on a date, people!”

****

The whole dressing room laughs and cheers for him and Cristiano has never felt better in a long, long time. Andrea tells him all about the restaurant he and his wife frequents, giving Cristiano their number right after. Mario and Blaise hype him up, like they always do. And Paulo seems to be happy due to the fact that the person Cristiano is taking out is Argentinian. He tells Cristiano a thing or two about Argentina and Cristiano spontaneously mentions Rosario.

****

“Rosario? That’s cool, I have a couple of friends who come from Rosario,” Paulo says with his usual bright disposition. 

****

And Cristiano wonders if there’s a possibility that Leo and Paulo know each other, no matter how slim the chances are. Something tells him that they’d get along just fine.

People start leaving since the training was all done anyway. Some of the aforementioned people continue to pester Cristiano about his date, but they leave too eventually. When the conversations die down and the dressing room is almost empty, he finds a discreet corner and texts Leo.

****

**You:** Hey, are you free tomorrow night?

**You:** Oh and what’s your take on Vietnamese food?

****

-

****

They're seated on a table, completely closed off from everyone else and Leo feels like he's in a gallery instead of a restaurant.

****

“I mean,” Leo says as he looks around the impeccable interior of the restaurant before muttering, “I know I should’ve expected nothing less than this from you, but this is still- you know, crazy for me.”

****

Cristiano rubs his nape, feeling a bit guilty. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I knew this would be a bit much for a first date, but we really need the privacy.”

****

Leo immediately shakes his head from across the table. “No, no, don’t apologize. I’m just a bit overwhelmed is all. I don’t usually have the money to go to a place like this.”

****

Seeing that Cristiano's little frown and guilty look hasn't ceased, Leo (despite being completely aware of his lack of ability in making jokes) cracks a little joke to hopefully make him feel better. “Really, I could be proposing to someone and I wouldn’t be able to go here. Let alone on a first date.”

****

Thankfully Cristiano smiles at his attempt to be funny.

****

“Well you deserve it,” Cristiano says coolly. “I didn’t want to take you here on a first date, because well, it is what it is. But it’s only because we’re just starting out and I don’t want to scare you off, not because you deserve to be treated to any less.”

****

They're only a few minutes into their date and Leo's heartbeat is already going wild. He still can't believe that he's on a date with Cristiano Ronaldo, who's essentially the closest thing to perfect that a man can get. There's no doubt that he's amongst the most desirable people in the world and that’s just- a difficult fact to wrap his head around. Because they met at a parking lot, Cristiano’s dreamt about his childhood dream, and now they’re on a date in a restaurant and Cristiano’s saying all the right things. And most of all, because he wants to do this with Leo, for some bizarre reason. 

****

The slightly uneasy look on Cristiano’s face reminds Leo that he hasn’t replied yet.

****

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to be scared off,” Leo says with a grin. “I know to appreciate good food when I get it.”

****

Cristiano’s smile returns and  _ damn him and his perfect smile _ . 

****

“I’ve never actually eaten here before,” he says thoughtfully. “A teammate recommended me because of the privacy you get here. He and his wife eat here a lot.”   


And for no good reason, Leo dares to wonder what it would be like if this  _ thing _ he has going on with Cristiano will go anywhere. What would happen if they get-

****

Leo shakes the thought off and asks, “Does this mean all of our dates are going to be spent here?”

****

Cristiano's eyebrows perk up at the mention of future dates. “I mean, we could. But if you're not comfortable then I'm sure we can find another place to go to.”

****

“Don’t get me wrong,” Leo says, holding his hands up. “I feel like royalty being here, but it might be nice to spend time at a more relaxed place once in a while.”

****

“Well… I don’t know many more places that can give us privacy. The ones I do know are very similar to this one, so…” Cristiano trails off, trying to find a good solution.

  
“We can go to my place,” Leo suggests shyly, “or yours, if you don’t mind,”

****

He holds his breath for a second because the idea of someone like Cristiano spending time in his small, messy apartment is wild. And at the same time, the idea of a nobody like Leo spending time in Cristiano’s big, extravagant house is just as wild.

****

However, Cristiano doesn’t seem to think that it’s so crazy after all. “I would love that. We can watch movies or play FIFA when we have a day off?”

****

“Sounds good,” Leo smiles, beaming. “Does your diet allow you to eat Chinese takeout or pizza?”

****

Cristiano chuckles at the question and shrugs. “I'm sure it's fine once in a while. I'll just work out and burn all the calories of in training.”

****

“That's such a you thing to do,” Leo says and  _ fuck _ , he’s really fallen for Cristiano. 

****

The worst thing is that he feels like they’re already so familiar with each other and he almost can’t imagine what his life was like before he started texting with Cristiano. Before he’s suddenly going on a first date in a fancy restaurant whose name Leo can’t pronounce. Leo feels like he just knows Cristiano so well, as deluded as that might sound. He doesn’t know if he can go back to not knowing him, ever.

****

In the midst of their laughs and giggles, a waiter appears from behind the curtains at the entrance to the private room. “Excuse me sir, are you ready to order?”

****

“Not yet,” Cristiano says, “please give us another moment.”

****

The waiter nods before he leaves. “Very well, sir.”

****

Leo blinks and realizes that he hasn’t looked at the menu at all. He picks up the menu in front of him and he thinks he’s pretty much  _ fucked _ . Even with the description below the names of the dishes he also can’t pronounce, he still doesn’t have any idea on what to order. He’s sure that when he’s in a restaurant like this, anything would taste good, but it’s just- embarrassing if he picks something randomly and ends up with something that’s just not his taste.

****

Noticing his confusion, Cristiano asks, “Okay, so do you know anything about Vietnamese food?”

****

“Uhm, barely,” Leo admits with a tint of pink on his cheeks.

****

And for some reason, Leo expects Cristiano to be annoyed, or to mock him, but who is he kidding? Of course Cristiano wouldn’t do that. Instead he smiles softly and says, “Right, so let me tell you what it's all about.”

****

“I didn't sign up for a culture class on Vietnamese cuisine,” Leo says, joking.

****

Cristiano chuckles and says, “Well you're getting it.”

****

The two share a laugh and Cristiano starts to explain to Leo about Vietnamese herbs and pho. He goes on and on, and the waiter checks on them two more times before they finally order. Leo ends up ordering a simple  _ Pho Bo Chin _ while Cristiano orders  _ Banh Mi. _ Leo secretly loves how cultured Cristiano is and how passionate he is about it. When the food and drinks arrive, they savor it as they should. Cristiano says that he’s been pining for some Vietnamese Coffee for a while now and offers Leo to take a sip of it. Leo, who has never really been a big fan of coffee, finds that he loves it. They both fawn over how good it tastes. 

****

Despite the nature of the place, Leo enjoyed the time he spent much more than he expected to. Not that he thinks that spending time with Cristiano can ever be that bad, but it’s been less uptight than he expected it to be.

****

For safety reasons (the media is just  _ that  _ dangerous, Cristiano said), they bid each other goodbye inside the private room. Though they both would love to do it outside instead, hungry tabloid papers are always ready to exploit Cristiano’s life for some good ol’ cash. It dawns over Leo that their (possibly coming) future dates would be a lot like this, like a secret operation or a drug deal. He also finds that he doesn’t mind as much as he thought he would. It’s worth it.

****

“Thank you for today. It- everything was great,” Leo says, looking at Cristiano.

****

Cristiano nods. “You’re welcome. You were great too. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed restaurants like these as much as I just did.”

****

“I was really nervous about going to a place like this at first, but you really warmed me up to it. Turns out that places like these aren’t so bad after all,” Leo says, playing with his fingers before he beams, “Oh and the food was great, of course.”

****

“I’ll take you here any day if it makes you feel happy.”

****

Again, Leo curses Cristiano’s ability to always find the right thing to say.

****

The latter seems to notice the mini heart attack that Leo just endured and his reaction is, for reasons unbeknownst to Leo, to pull Leo into a warm, tight hug.

****

Cristiano pulls back almost as quickly as he initiated the hug. “Sorry, I- I just can’t believe you’re real sometimes. That you’re just, really here.”

****

Leo is confused at first, because it should really be the other way around. Leo is just Leo while Cristiano is- the embodiment of everything a person could possibly want. An A-list celebrity Leo never even though he would even get into a one mile proximity to. But then it occurs to him, the meaning behind Cristiano’s words. It’s impossible for him to forget that Cristiano has dreamt about him, about Leo playing for Barcelona. They haven’t talked much about the dream as of late, but for Cristiano, Leo might truly be a dream come true.

****

It makes him both unbelievably happy and also, incredibly sad.

****

“Do you still have the dreams?”

****

Cristiano looks surprised, because Leo has read right through him. “Yes, sometimes.”

****

“What happens in them?”

****

“You’re always in Barcelona colors,” Cristiano says, smiling fondly at the recollections of his dreams. “I can be in Manchester or Madrid, but you’re always in Barcelona. And you- your football is- otherworldly. The way you play is like nothing I've ever seen before.”

****

“Cristiano,” Leo says, his voice soft and a bit sad, “has it ever occurred to you that- you know, what if I’m not the Leo in your dreams? I don’t play football, and especially not in a way that’s-”

****

“No, no, look, Leo,” Cristiano shakes his head frantically and places his hands on Leo's shoulders. He looks into Leo's eyes and almost makes Leo shudder at the sheer sincerity of his gaze. “I might dream about Leo the Barcelona player, but it’s the you that’s in front of me that I want.”

****

“Really? Are you fine with just me?” Leo asks, looking up at Cristiano with hope.

****

Cristiano nods and smiles softly. “Just you? You’re still the man of my dreams, even if you’re not a Barcelona player.”

****

“The man of your dreams, huh?” Leo asks, unable to hold back the wide smile forming on his lips. It’s such a sappy phrase, but he doesn’t care, he’s overjoyed.

****

Those words give him a surge of confidence and he slowly steps closer to Cristiano. When they get so close that their bodies are almost touching, Cristiano’s breath hitches. Leo has no idea where all this confidence is coming from, so much so that he’s reaching for Cristiano’s collar because the latter is just too damn tall. He gets a wift of Cristiano’s probably super expensive perfume as he gently pulls him down by placing his hand on the back of Cristiano’s neck.

****

That was probably too much tension to just end on a chaste kiss.

****

But because Leo’s brain woke up and got back to its usual state of being, that’s exactly what he does. He gives Cristiano a chaste kiss and pulls back. He thinks he might be smiling like an idiot, but in reality his brain is short-circuiting and he can’t really think about anything or make himself function properly. He’s glad that Cristiano seems to be in a more or less similar state despite the slight anti-climax.

****

“I- I’m sorry, I just thought-” Leo stammers out.

****

Cristiano cuts him off immediately, “No, no, that was- perfect. It’s just that I-”

****

Cristiano hesitates to continue and Leo sees a blush creeping on the Portuguese's cheeks. It’s absolutely adorable, and it makes it all the more gratifying that it’s unlikely that many people have seen him like this. 

****

“You what?”

****

“I can’t help but to want more.” 

****

Leo can’t say that he didn’t expect that, but still, hearing its is far more embarrassing than he thought it would be. It doesn’t matter though, he’s too damn happy to care. 

****

Now, both of them are avoiding each other’s gazes, a tint of pink coloring their cheeks.

****

They’re practically the perfect picture to describe idiots in love, the kind of couple Leo has always been slightly annoyed at when he passes by them at work or in the streets. Maybe this is his karma, for being so against them for no good reason. They’ve been too quiet for too long, so Leo decides to break the silence.

****

“I mean, that’s- that’s okay, I guess.”

****

Cristiano’s eyes light up like he just won the Ballon d’or. “Really?”

****

Leo nods shyly, grinning sheepishly at Cristiano.

****

And of course, with the permission, Cristiano doesn’t hesitate to pull Leo into a kiss. A much fiercer, deeper kiss. The Portuguese is somehow kissing him in a way that shows hunger, but also gentleness at the same time. He bites Leo’s lower lip and slips his tongue into Leo’s mouth. Leo lets him, and Cristiano explores his mouth with the same expertise as his football. The sensation of it makes Leo shut his eyes close and tremble ever so slightly. He even almosts let out a moan, even though they’re in a kind-of public place.

****

They break apart, both of them out of breath.

****

Cristiano is beaming and Leo can’t bear to look at the Portuguese's handsome features anymore or he might go crazy. He’s really speechless, what does he even say after receiving what’s probably the best kiss of his life?

****

“You can say that you want more. If you want it, there’s a lot more where that came from,” Cristiano says, smirking.

****

Leo realizes that he’s been thinking out loud and his cheeks heat up even more.

****

“I- well- that was really really good,” Leo manages to say.

****

“It was really good for me too.”

****

“I didn’t even do anything though,” Leo says, looking down, feeling bad for being passive.

****

Cristiano laughs and says in a low voice, “You don’t even have to. God knows what would’ve happened if you did.”

****

And dear God, if this doesn’t stop now, they might end up doing something incredibly stupid and inappropriate in the restaurant.

****

Despite the very real risk of doing something indecent, Leo pushes on. “What would've happened?”

****

“I would’ve gone crazy,” Cristiano says, biting his lips right after he says it.

****

Leo would be lying if he said he didn’t want to continue this in a more discreet place, but the better of his judgement took over. “We should- we should stop.”

****

“I’m sorry, am I being too forward?” 

****

“No, yes, well, no, but I’m just- I don’t want to go there yet,” Leo explains and he doesn’t miss the disappointment in Cris’ eyes. “This is, this is special for me. I’m really into you and I don’t want to mess this up.”

****

Cristiano’s eyes soften at his words. Leo finds it so precious, the amount of emotion Cristiano shows from his eyes. 

****

“I know, I don’t want to mess this up either. I- I’m sorry I rushed things and overwhelmed you. Let’s just- take this slow and steady, yeah?”

****

Leo smiles and nods, glad by the fact that Cristiano understands his point completely.

****

“I guess it’s actually time to say goodbye then?”

****

Cristiano shrugs, “Unfortunately. It is getting late.”

****

“And you have training tomorrow, don’t you? You should rest.”

****

“You should too. You have work tomorrow.”

****

“Don’t worry,” Leo says as he rubs his eye, “I’m full and I’m already feeling a bit sleepy.”

****

Cristiano gives him a concerned look, “You’re taking an uber right? Be careful to not fall asleep.”

****

“I won’t, I won’t. I can take care of myself,” Leo reassures him.

****

“I would drive you back myself, but…” 

****

“It’s okay Cris, don’t feel bad. I know it’ll be too suspicious, it’s fine.”

****

Cristiano runs his fingers through Leo’s hair and cups Leo’s cheeks, looking at him like he’s the most precious thing in the world. “I really am sorry. I wish I could take care of you better.”

****

Leo swears he’s going to die from all the romance that has suddenly been introduced into his life. It’s like he’s in a real life rendition of a novel his mother reads.

****

“My- my uber’s here,” Leo replies lamely when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket.

****

Cristiano traces his thumb on Leo’s cheekbones before he lets go of his face altogether. “Take care. I’ll be seeing you again soon?”

****

“Soon,” Leo says, looking away and trying to hide the blush on his cheeks.

****

He walks out of the room, wanting to take one more glance at Cristiano, but not allowing himself to. He’s not going to want to leave if he does that. But of course, of fucking course, he hears Cristiano call out to him.

****

“Leo!”

****

“Yes?”   


“Is it alright if I text you, tonight?”

****

“It’s fine. You can do that.”

****

“Alright, thank you,” Cristiano says with a grin, phone already in hand.

****

Leo seriously considers running out of the restaurant out of sheer embarrassment and how uncharacteristically sappy and fluffy he was being. But he can’t possibly do that in such a restaurant, so he walks out of the restaurant with his gaze firmly planted on the ground in an attempt to hide his burning cheeks. He gets inside his uber and buries his face into his hands.

****

He’s so in love with Cristiano, it’s ridiculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, this got really sappy real quick. I don't know how I feel about this chapter actually? I might change it up at some point in the future, but I also really wanted to update this fic. Let me know what you think :)


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